2023 By the Numbers - LMP2

 LMP2:

Podiums – 28 drivers. Most – Kurtz/Hanley 5

Wins –Proton Competition 1, Tower 1, PR1 1, Crowdstrike by APR 2, TDS Racing 2

Champions – Ben Keating (2^nd ) & Paul-Loup Chatin

MEC Champions – George Kurtz & Ben Hanley

10 cars entered, 7 full season. Only High Class did not get a podium.

 

Qualifying – Poles – Keating 4, Kurtz 2.

Car	Driver	Avg. Q
52	Keating	1.67
0.4	Kurtz	2.83
11	Thomas	2.83
35	Heriau (3) Falb (2) Sales (1)	3.67
88	Perrodo (2)	4.5
8	Farano (3) Sales (1) Goldburg (1) Balogh (1)	6
51	Lux (3)	6
20	Andersen	6.17
18	Merriman	7.17

 

Most Positions Gained Q to F: 18 Era Motorsport + 10

Most Positions Lost Q to F: 11 TDS Racing -11

Most Points gained in qualifying: 52 PR1 Mathiasen +165

Fewest Points earned in qualifying: 18 Era Motorsport + 120

Driver	ToP			Driver	#
Jensen	0.28			Hanley	3.86
Hanley	0.436			Jensen	4.14
Chatin	0.675			Chatin	5.43
Dalziel	0.811			Dalziel	7.43
van der Garde	0.901			van der Garde	8.86
Jones	2.296			Jones	13.14
Keating	2.619			Keating	15.14
Kurtz	3.036			Kurtz	16.29
Thomas	3.358			Thomas	17.86
Andersen	4.009			Andersen	20.50
Merriman	4.604			Merriman	21.29

 

Driver of the year: Mikkel Jensen

Mikkel very narrowly takes this, by dint of his incredible consistency to be on pace at all 7 tracks across the year. He set the fastest lap of the race in both of the last races, Indy and Petit. His most off pace races were Daytona and Watkins, strangely enough. He was consistent, fast, and kept himself and Steven Thomas in the championship hunt until the very last race. The only reason he gets Driver of the Year over Ben Hanley is a slightly closer time off pace average than Hanley; Jensen had the advantage by a tenth and a half.

Honorable mention: Hanley (almost won 3/4 enduros in ’23, 1 FL, 2 wins), Chatin (1 win, Champion in first full IMSA season).

Bronze Driver of the Year: Ben Keating

This comes as no surprise, but Ben’s pace relative to the back of the LMP2 pros was impressive. He pulled a gap to the rest of his competition in terms of consistency and pace. His four poles this year weren’t always statements, a few of them coming down to the wire, but his race pace was often closer to Ed Jones, a man who’s had 3 IndyCar podiums, than any other Bronze.

Honorable mention: Kurtz (2 wins, MEC champion, 2 poles), Thomas (tied for 2^nd in qualifying average despite no poles, 2 wins, showing marked improvement year on year).